Spaghetti Squash

I am always tempted by spaghetti squash at the Hollywood Farmers Market. Larry does not understand this, and would prefer I lost my fascination with this vegetable. So I restrain myself most of the time.

Until the other day when I served spaghetti squash tossed in olive oil and garlic. Now I think Larry will not look so askance at my purchases.

I prefer not to cut into hard raw squash if I don't have to, so I wash the skin and then put it whole in the toaster oven at 350°F until it's soft. That can take 30-60 minutes, depending on the size and age of the squash. I have a slender knife I slide in to see if it's done, and I also squeeze it with my hand to see if it gives. When it's cooked, I leave it on the counter to cool a while, then cut it in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds and the guts. With spaghetti squash it can be tough to discern the guts from the squash, but I err on the side of caution. With two forks I separate the strands a bit.

Ready for the garlic oil.

Then comes the good part. I warmed 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet and threw in 2 cloves of minced garlic. When they smelled good, I added the squash, stir-frying it so it got coated in the wonderful garlicky oil.

Even Larry enjoyed it.

As I always say, you can't go wrong with garlic butter - or even garlic olive oil.